Rail workers in South Yorkshire to walk out on strike

Rail workers will walk out on strike for the 15th time as a bitter dispute about the role of guards rumbles on.

Members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union at Arriva Rail North and Merseyrail will hold a 24-hour strike on Saturday, March 3 about the running of driver-only trains.

Northern, the trading name of Arriva Rail North, operates services across Yorkshire.

RMT general secretary Mick Cash said: “Every single effort that RMT has made to reach negotiated settlements in these separate disputes with Northern and Merseyrail over safe operation and safe staffing has been kicked back in our faces. No one should be in any doubt, these disputes are about putting the safety of the travelling public before the profits of the private train companies

“It is frankly ludicrous that we have been able to negotiate long-term arrangements in Scotland and Wales that protect the guards and passenger safety but we are being denied the same opportunities with rail companies in England.

“Theresa May and Chris Grayling are happy to stand aside and cheer on overseas rail companies that rip-off the British passenger with eye-watering far increases to subsidise their domestic transport operations while throwing the guards off our trains. If it’s good enough for Wales and Scotland to put safety first then it’s good enough for the rest of the UK.